Forest Service and state of South Dakota sign agreement to work together on forest management

The U.S. Forest Service announced Friday that it has signed a five-year agreement to work with the state of South Dakota to carry out projects on national forest and adjacent land, possibly including timber harvesting, prescribed burning, forest thinning, grazing, and habitat and watershed restoration.

Meanwhile, a former national forest employee said he suspects the agreement will allow the Forest Service to lean more on the state’s help to maintain logging levels.

The shared stewardship agreement is between the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Forest Service. It follows similar agreements in other states and comes after President Donald Trump’s executive order last year calling for an “immediate expansion” of American timber production.

Following the initial five-year term, the agreement may be extended in increments of three years. It does not authorize any project by itself. Specific projects involving money, services, property or other resources would require separate agreements and approvals.

Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a press release the agreement is meant to align state and federal priorities, including work to reduce wildfire threats and address insect and disease outbreaks.

“With this agreement, we are aligning federal and state priorities to accelerate active management in high risk areas,” Schultz said.

Gov. Larry Rhoden said in the press release that the agreement reinforces the state’s collaboration with the Forest Service to “reduce wildfire risk, improve rangeland health, and support the state’s forest products industry.”

Dave Mertz, a retired Black Hills National Forest natural resource officer, said in an interview with South Dakota Searchlight that he suspects the agreement’s purpose is to maintain or increase timber production by relying more on the state. The Trump administration fired thousands of Forest Service workers nationwide during Department of Government Efficiency cuts last year, although lawsuits resulted in rehirings. 

“I’m suspicious that the primary reason for it is to help the Forest Service get more trees cut,” Mertz said.

In recent years, a debate has raged about the quantity of trees large enough to serve as sawtimber in South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest. Environmental and conservation groups have argued that decades of mountain pine beetle infestations and large wildfires have reduced the number of trees to a level that requires reduced logging for sustainability. Timber companies have argued that the forest can sustain a higher level of logging.

The Forest Service determines areas available for logging and sells the rights to cut trees. Timber sales in the Black Hills National Forest declined from 2021 to 2024 but increased last year. The roughly 8.4 million cubic feet of timber sold last year in the forest was still far lower than a peak of 25.3 million sold in 2008.

A new stewardship agreement between the state of South Dakota and the U.S. Forest Service.